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thanks, bj

Monday, July 4, 2011

FOOD AND GAMES...Aren't they fun !

 *vintage checker board

When I was growing up, 
my family played a lot of GAMES...
Board games...
card games...
all kinds of games.
I had LOTS of aunts, uncles and cousins around all the time
and our house was where every one gathered.
All the females would cook up some of the greatest things to eat..
Mom would set the table...
and, back then...dark ages...we didn't use PAPER PLATES or RED SOLO CUPS.
Looking back now, I wonder if Mother had THAT many glasses and 
dishes, in general.
I guess she did...
Everyone would eat,
the ladies would clear the table...
and the GAMES BEGAN.
Of all the laughing, hollering, a little swearing  going on...
It was so so much fun.
Seems that CHECKERS
and POKER
were the two favorites of the men....
and that's where we heard a little cuss word or two.
:O)
The ladies usually played games with us young kids...
Games like...
MONOPOLY....
We played MONOPOLY by the hours !!!
♥♥♥
We taught our kids to play games, too.

Once, after Mr. Sweet and I had our children,
he and son, DAVID, stayed up all night long one weekend,
playing Monopoly,. 
I couldn't even believe it.
I am NOT competitive at all...but both of them are
and they couldn't stop until one of them won..
and...it was DAVID. :)
And, not only did Mr. Sweet LOSE..
his boss called him in to work the next morning and 
he had to go...without sleep...until about noon.
Poor Mr. Sweet..
Back when I was little,
we didn't have tv and so GAMES were always so much fun.
Chinese Checkers was a favorite, too.
We played PICK UP STICKS sometimes but
all of us liked the board games best.





Mostly, we played CHECKERS and CHINESE CHECKERS in the 50's...

But our kids had sooo many games.
Do you remember:
BATTLESHIP
CHESS
MASTER MIND
CLUE
YAHTZEE
OPERATION
??
Being raised in a GAME PLAYING FAMILY,
we played a LOT of games with our children.
In fact, I still have games, score pads and same pens they used
from the 70's and 80's.
Now , it's to 3rd GENERATION and the grands
seem to love games even more than we did.
It makes my heart sing to listen to all the laughing
going on between sisters, brothers, cousins...
(these two don't have a single smile on their faces...:).
GAME PLAYING is such a good, wholesome way to bring
all the family...friends...together.
I love that they have the electronic games, too...
I am just partial to the
"let's all sit down and play a board game"...
I like the togetherness...
I love that it can bring the young AND the old together as in
no other way.
These two ladies are very good friends and the darling little lady is a terrific little friend.
Game playing has stayed with my son, DAVID, all his life.
He STILL loves a great game...
and his favorite ...
TEXAS HOLD 'EM
a poker game....
and, BOY, is he GOOD at it. :)
Of course, he is ALWAYS a winner in MY book !
OOO..
and we STILL love to eat..
hugs and kisses,
bj
linking with:
THANKS, LADIES. 
(this is the 4th and we are on our way to a cookout with son and family..)
:)

28 comments:

Karena said...

I can see that you all always have a great time on holidays!

Happy Independence Day!

xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena

Come and join a very Fashionable Giveaway from the Shabby Apple!!

Debby said...

Looks like lots of fun. Myhusband and the guys love Texas Hold'em. ((((HUGS))))

Anonymous said...

BJ,
I still have the old Yahtzee score cards from the '70s....
And we would play board games all Christmas afternoon with my parents. It was great. And games on vacation evenings.
Yahtzee, Master Mind, Monopoly, The Barbie Game, Flinch, and card games.
Thanks for the memories!

Pondside said...

When our son comes home there's always at least one game night with my husband, BIL and two nephews. Once she was an adult they couldn't say 'no' to our daughter, and she joined in. They play games that I just don't 'get' like Risk and Settlers of Catan but we all play Monopoly and I love Scrabble. Like you, we eat when we play!

La said...

I loved Chinese Checkers as a kid. It is great that game playing is still a popular past time in your family.

Pat said...

That was fun to see your game pics! We still play cards after a family dinner, spades, hearts, etc.

Robin@DecoratingTennisGirl said...

Beeej, HI! I'm still here, just a busy bee. I love to play games with the Tennis Girls. So fun! All those snacks look sooooo good!
xoxo
Me

Babs said...

BJ, I was an only child and didn't play many board games growing up but I did love to eat. lol
Your snacks look great.
Hope your 4th was great,too.
Babs

Vee said...

I remember them all...my oldest grandson is just starting to enjoy board games so that will be fun.

We learned a new card game while visiting with my aunt and uncle last night called Eight Down and Eight Up. Ever heard of that one? It was fun, moved right along, and kept us laughing through the evening.

Linda said...

What an awesome post! I played all those games, too! And still do! I also played jacks when I was a kid and am teaching my granddaughter how to play. Pick up sticks was a favorite of mine. This is such a feel good post! Love seeing your happy family!

NanaDiana said...

We were always game players too. Monopoly and I loved CLUE and Chinese Checkers! I cam remember playing for hours. We always got one new game for Christmas and would play after morning chores were done. We would play all afternoon. That was quite a feat considering we lived on a farm and my mother did not take many "off" days..but Christmas Day was all games all afternoon.

My kids like to play games with their kids too. My son-in-law (his family never played) does NOT like games. But he will play cards..they play Sheepshead here a lot..don't ask cuz I don't know.

Well, this gaming gal is off to bed..long week of work for me~ xo Diana

Ms. E said...

I used to play monopoly and scrabble with my brothers ( I miss those days). Looks all fun during the 4th huh? Very nice! :)

Chie said...

great red stuffs you have here. it must be fun to play that red checkered board game

Bunny Jean said...

The family all gathered together playing games and eating good food... what more could you ask for?

xoxo Bunny Jean

Lynn said...

Love how you used the gift bag as a centerpiece BJ! Also lovin' the enameled bowl for the chips! Looks like everyone is having a great time-enjoy:@)

The French Hutch said...

Hey you fun gal, Looks like a great party going on at your home for the fourth. Love those glasses. The food looked delicious, and you sure know how to photograph it! Now on to the board games, I grew up on those too, favorite was Monopoly. Played it for hours with cousins and friends. Now I love to play Texas Hold 'Em, I can actually beat the Mr., so he doesn't like to play.........

~Emily
The French Hutch

Theresa said...

GAMES!!!! We love them now and when I was growing up! Checkers is a favorite, my daughter has a wonderful memory of playing checkers with my Mama:) I love Chinese Checkers and Operation! FOOD looks YUMMY:)

Have a blessed day dear BJ! HUGS!

Ricki Treleaven said...

BJ, if you have not gotten it already, you need to get Apples to Apples! It is a fantastically fun game! :D We love it.

*fun post*

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

Look at that concentration!!! :-)

Great post. And I remember those games. but was never a game-player myself. Guess Chinese Checkers was as far as I ventured, into "Game Land." :-)

~♥~

Sue said...

I think that we actually had more fun together as a family back in the "olden days." LOL We always played regular checkers, Monopoly and Chinese checkers. I never was fond of card games and still don't 'get' them. Looks as if a fun time was had by all at your gathering! xo Sue

Poppy @ With a Dash of Color said...

Oh what a fun post! I love board games! My kids and I play it all the time... especially Monopoly is a favorite in our family. My older girl is the competitive one... She won't stop until she wins! Another favorite is Scrabble... love that one. And I love the delicious looking food in your party. Looks like you guys had lots of fun! Have a wonderful week ahead!~Poppy

http://withadashofcolor.blogspot.com/

Rita said...

Of course I was also around before TV and we played board games every Sunday when our boys were growing up. We still do get the games out when they come to visit.
I was anxioous to find out about Food games; mever heard of that one.
Rita

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Love the tablescape and the games are such fun. I love the vintage boards and everyone looks like they are having so much fun. Thanks so much for joining TTT. Hugs, Marty

Kathleen Grace said...

What fun, and your checkerboard tabletop is awesome! I don't know much about card games, but we love Scrabble, Monopoly and Trouble:>)

Chubskulit Rose said...

Gorgeous!

My Ruby Tuesday, please come and see.

Sweet Tea said...

We are a longtime game family too. We've never pulled an all-nighter that I can remember, though I remember some games of RISK that went into the wee hours...I recognized the SEQUENCE game, one of my current favorites!

Very nice to meet you - glad you stopped by my Blog. I've signed on to FOLLOW, so I'll be baaack!

Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage said...

I grew up playing games with my family, too - all the games you mentioned in your post, plus Scrabble, Aggravation, Rummy, Rook, and many more.

We started playing games with our children when they were really young, and it is still one of our favorite activities as a family. My granddaughter will be three in September, and we're starting to play games with her now. She loves it! Games are great fun for ALL ages.

Blessings,
Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

Fishtail Cottage said...

Coming over from 2nd time around to say hello! Love board games here too...such a great way to spend family time! xoxo, tracie